All language subtitles for APPOCALYPSE D DAY - 1 - Documentary [2024] - Hr

(dramatic drum beats)

- (man speaks French)

NARRATOR:
The great book of courage and fear

was written on these
Normandy beaches on June 6th, 1944.

(gentle rousing classical music)

NARRATOR: Here, three million Allied
soldiers landed or fell from the sky

to free Europe from Nazi oppression.

(plane engines drone)

(distant explosions)

(tense music)

(explosions and artillery fire)

(shouting)

(rapid gunfire in distance)

(rapid gunfire nearby)

(recording of rapid gunfire)

NARRATOR: Anne Marie Desquet
lived on this beach.

The Allies were there,
so she smiled, despite the danger.

She recalls:

"Our dog is terrified.

Cannons are being fired!

Planes are flying overhead!"

(plane engines drone)

NARRATOR:
Henri Bougeard was a child.

He remembers:

"The D-Day landings
were hailed as a relief

and a terrible misfortune.

War had reached our shores."

(tank squeaks and rattles)

NARRATOR: For the men
who landed in Normandy,

and soon in Provence,
and for the whole of France,

this is the summer
of the Apocalypse.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: How did the Allies prepare
for these gigantic campaigns?

How did the Germans
organise their defences?

For all concerned,
this will be The Great Challenge.

(dramatic music)

(muffled chanting of crowd)

MAN ON STAGE: Adolf Hitler.

ALL: Adolf Hitler.

NARRATOR: Since 1938,
Hitler has tormented Europe,

claiming, like other dictators,

that he is the victim
of a war he himself caused.

- (muffled speech in German)

(tense music)

NARRATOR: In July 1943,
he still controls part of Russia,

known at the time
as the Soviet Union.

But since his defeat
in the Battle of Kursk,

he is on the defensive.

His enemies,
the so-called Big Three,

meet in Tehran in November 1943.

(suspenseful music)

NARRATOR:
Stalin, Master of the Kremlin,

gets together with US President
Franklin D Roosevelt...

..and British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill...

to prepare a new Western Front
to relieve the pressure in the East.

(chatter and stirring music)

NARRATOR: Churchill sought to impose
his idea of landing in the Balkans,

which he called
"Europe's soft underbelly"...

to take Berlin before the Russians.

Stalin opposed this idea,
as did the Americans.

So, the plan became:

land in Normandy, then in Provence,

to meet up in Dijon...

and encircle the German army.

Everything began one year earlier
in French North Africa,

with the Allies'
first significant landing,

General Eisenhower in command.

Dwight D Eisenhower is 54.

Born into a modest family
of German emigrants,

he was accepted at the prestigious
West Point Military Academy.

This armoured officer proves to be
a brilliant organiser and diplomat.

History will remember him.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: In 1942,
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia

were still in the hands of Marshall
Petain and Admiral Darlan,

who had established a policy
of collaboration with Hitler.

On November 8th, 1942,

when the Allies landed
in North Africa,

they didn't hesitate
to issue orders to open fire.

(shouting and gunfire)

NARRATOR: Three days of fighting
left 2,000 dead,

most of them French.

Yet, following his victory,

Eisenhower kept
Admiral Darlan in power.

A pragmatist,
he explained to Roosevelt:

"I understand your surprise.

But without a strong French
government in place here,

we would be forced into
full military occupation,

which would cost us dearly
in time and resources."

(marching footsteps)

NARRATOR:
But Darlan was assassinated

by a French Resistance fighter
on Christmas Day, 1942.

Roosevelt replaced him
with General Henri Giraud,

a leading light of the French army,

with the intent to sideline General
de Gaulle, in exile in London.

Roosevelt didn't like de Gaulle,
whom he saw as a potential dictator.

Yet Churchill supported him.

After complex negotiations,

Giraud and de Gaulle shared interim
control over liberated North Africa.

(dramatic burst of music)

NARRATOR: In Algiers,
in June 1943, the two rivals

present the new African Army
to King George VI of England.

(marching footsteps)

NARRATOR: It has been re-equipped
and re-armed by the Allies.

The troops prepare to return
to combat with the Pieds-Noirs,

the Moroccan "goumiers",

the Algerian infantrymen,
and numerous African troops,

often enlisted by force

or seduced by the salary
and prestige of the uniform.

(tense percussive music)

NARRATOR: Soon, they will land
in Provence to liberate France.

After North Africa, the Allies
set their sights on Sicily.

First, they devise an extraordinary
disinformation campaign

to mislead the Germans.

In London, MI5,
Britain's counter-espionage agency,

comes up with the Mincemeat plan.

British secret agents recover
a body from the morgue,

make it look presentable,
and dress it up as a staff officer.

They take him on board a submarine

and throw him into the water
off the coast of Spain.

He has a new identity in his pocket,
Major William Martin,

along with a military career,
a fiancee, and a wealth of details.

And the essential item:

attached to his wrist, a briefcase
containing plans, in indelible ink,

for a fake Allied landing
in Greece and Sardinia.

The tide will do the rest.

The body is found by Spanish
fishermen on April 30th, 1943.

The documents reach the Germans,

who study them
and deem them credible.

This leads General Jodl
to convince Hitler

that a landing
will take place in Greece,

so the troops are sent there.

But the German soldiers
spend their time sightseeing.

Operation Mincemeat is a success.

The coast is clear.

On July 9th, 1943, the Allies
are able to land in Sicily

without significant casualties.

(tense music)

NARRATOR:
The 7th US Army's film department

features its leader,
the best-known

and most controversial general
of the day, Patton.

George Patton, 58, is a leader
of men and a remarkable tactician.

A historian of Caesar and Napoleon,
a great Francophile,

he is extravagant, wearing his
1911 Colt 45 revolver on his belt,

Wild West style.

The ivory grip
is engraved with his initials.

His bull terrier, Willie,
is by his side for every battle.

Patton is famous
for his outspokenness.

He tells his soldiers...

.."The object of war
is not to die for your country

but to make the other BLEEP
die for his."

Patton is often hard to control.

He slaps a shell-shocked
soldier in the face.

It's an outrage.

He is relieved of his command.

Roosevelt appoints Eisenhower to
command all Allied forces in Europe.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: On December 6th, 1943,
he moves to London,

to plan from England,
Operation Overlord...

..the landing in France.

- I am highly gratified that
my command is still an allied one.

The past year has seen
a tremendous advance

in our progress
towards final victory.

On the Russian front,
the great and valiant Red Army

have made tremendous inroads
against the Nazis.

I have complete confidence that
the soldiers, sailors, and airmen

and all the civil population
of the united nations

will demonstrate, once and for all
that an aroused democracy is

the most formidable fighting machine
that can't be devised.

(tense music)

NARRATOR:
Neutral countries like Sweden

pass these newsreels
to the Germans.

Eisenhower continues
feeding false intel.

He indicates the Bordeaux region...

..whereas, in Tehran,
the Big Three decided

that the Landing would occur
between Cherbourg and Le Havre.

Broad beaches, large enough
to accommodate an immense fleet,

for what will be the most extensive
amphibious operation in history.

Eisenhower chairs
the Inter-Allied Chiefs of Staff

because America provides funding
and weapons for the operation.

For diplomatic reasons,

he is surrounded by
two renowned British generals.

General Bernard Montgomery, 57,

will command the D-Day land forces.

Victorious over the Germans
in the Battle of the Desert,

he is known to be difficult
and reluctant to cooperate.

(muffled chatter)

NARRATOR: And then, there's Royal
Air Force General Arthur Tedder, 54,

in his iconic leather flight jacket.

(muffled chatter)

NARRATOR: For Montgomery, Tedder
is in cahoots with the Americans.

He was with Eisenhower in Sicily.

Tedder hates their complicity.

Eisenhower will have to call upon
his legendary diplomatic skills.

Montgomery will say privately,

"We have the brains,
and the Americans have the brawn!"

(tense music)

NARRATOR: For Eisenhower,
the job is a complicated one.

The world's fate
rests upon his shoulders.

In early 1944,
Hitler is at the Wolf's Lair,

his headquarters in the East.

The mood is glum.

Hitler often has himself filmed
decorating war heroes.

He tries to galvanise his troops
after five years of war,

like with these submarine
commanders,

the last survivors of
the Battle of the Atlantic.

The German people are worried,
and many officers are unhappy.

Several assassination attempts
have failed...

..and Hitler now only goes out

to attend the many funerals
war has brought on.

To prepare everyone
for what Hitler calls The Invasion,

he proclaimed
in his latest directive...

(artillery fire)

NARRATOR:
.."We have been moved to extremes

in the fight against Bolshevism...

..but nothing can mortally damage
the German lifeline."

(marching music)

NARRATOR: "Closer to home,
a greater danger threatens us.

The Anglo-Saxon landing.

Should the enemy succeed
in penetrating the West,

the consequences
would be incalculable."

(tense music)

(deep blasts of ship's whistle)

NARRATOR: In the English ports,

over two million soldiers
join the British forces.

Americans, Canadians,
Australians, New Zealanders,

along with French, Poles, Czechs,
Norwegians, Belgians and Greeks.

The Americans arrive in England

on liners converted for troop
transport - the Liberty Ships.

# SOUSA:
The Stars and Stripes Forever

NARRATOR: They make up
three-quarters of the Allied forces.

The African-Americans
are separated from the others.

100,000 strong, they are subjected
to the segregation

in effect in the United States
at the time.

(muffled chatter)

(rousing music continues)

NARRATOR: 100,000 women
are enlisted in the army

as nurses or auxiliaries.

One of them tries to reassure these
young Americans with donuts,

one of their favourite foods.

Private Tom Porcella is troubled.

He is a devout Christian
and wonders...

.."Will I be able to kill a man?"

(steam train chugs)

NARRATOR: Most haven't yet
asked themselves this question.

They are GIs,
which stands for Galvanised Iron,

like their equipment and morale.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: These millions of soldiers
will live in 700,000 tents.

They will consume
100,000 tonnes of potatoes,

200 million litres of beer,

and a stock of 15 million condoms.

The Americans are an instant hit.

# OFFENBACH: Marines' Hymn

NARRATOR: Laura Knight, 19,

is one of 75,000 young English women
to marry a GI.

She says...

"They were magnificent,

with big pockets
full of chewing gum!"

(crowd cheers and applauds)

- (boy laughs)

- (girl laughs)

NARRATOR: 350,000 vehicles -
tanks, trucks, Jeeps -

have crossed the Atlantic

to invade the roads and fields
of the English countryside...

..shaking up traditions
across 500 kilometres.

10,000 ships of all sizes,

manned by 200,000 sailors,

pile into the ports
of southern England.

They will be loaded with
25 million tonnes of food,

equipment and fuel.

(winch clanks)

NARRATOR: Each division will consume
100,000 litres of gasoline per day

once in France.

Therefore, an ultra-secret
underwater pipeline

is put into place to be rolled out
across the English Channel.

On the Southern West Coast
of England, in Woolacombe,

the Allies build a giant
secret assault training centre.

On February 19th, 1944,
a Soviet delegation arrives,

led by Admiral Kharlamov,
a master spy.

(tense music)

NARRATOR:
Surprised by the damp, cold weather

in this part of England,
the Russians are equipped

with warm US Navy jackets.

Admiral Kharlamov
visits the landing barges

and confirms
that Stalin is preparing

a major offensive in the East
to prevent the Germans

from sending reinforcements
to Normandy when the time comes.

The Russians discover
some unusual inventions,

including the floating tank...

..the Duplex, with propellers
to move through the water...

..and the Crab,
designed to destroy beach mines.

Much of this new
amphibious equipment

is the result of lessons learned

during the catastrophic Allied
landing in France two years earlier,

an attempt to seize the port
of Dieppe on August 19th, 1942.

It cost them two Canadian divisions,
British commandos, American rangers,

and a handful of Free Frenchmen.

(projectile whistles through air)

(explosion booms)

NARRATOR: In the fierce
air battle over Dieppe,

pilots of all nationalities
continue to fight

next to the Royal Air Force.

(rapid gunfire)

NARRATOR: One of them is shot down -
a Belgian...

..Count Ivan du Monceau
de Bergendal.

He is rescued
by Royal Navy sailors...

and returns to combat
until the end of the war.

The German newsreels, in French,

take full advantage
of the disastrous Allied assault.

(man speaks French on newsreel)

NARRATOR:
The Germans claimed two victories -

on the beach at Dieppe,
and in the public opinion,

which now believes that
"Fortress Europe" is impenetrable.

(troops sing together)

NARRATOR: Two years later,
the failure at Dieppe

leads Eisenhower and his Allies

to abandon their plans to take this
major port on the Atlantic coast,

which would be heavily defended.

This raises the question
of transporting tanks

and heavy equipment by large ships

that cannot approach the beaches
without running aground.

Eisenhower builds two prefabricated
artificial harbours,

one for the Americans
and the other for the British.

This colossal project
and technological feat

is known as "Mulberry harbours".

These quays and floating piers will
be towed across the English Channel

and submerged on D-Day,
in front of the landing beaches,

with massive concrete cubes
to protect them from the waves.

The construction site is spotted
by a German reconnaissance plane,

but the high command
doesn't understand what it is.

D-Day landing preparations
in southern England

have become history's
most significant accumulation

of troops and equipment,

impossible to hide
from the Germans.

So, the Allies invent a new
disinformation manoeuvre...

Operation Fortitude...

..which consists of
two fake operations

planned for the first
six months of 1944.

Fortitude North, the announcement
of a landing in Norway,

so the Germans
will send troops there,

creating short supply elsewhere.

And Fortitude South,
to convince Hitler

that the main landing will occur
in the Pas-de-Calais,

where the distance between England
and France is at its shortest.

General Patton is reinstated
because he's famous and credible...

..leading a phantom army
with dummy armoured divisions.

(whimsical military music)

NARRATOR:
But will Hitler fall for it?

In March 1944,

he leaves his headquarters
in the East for his mountain home.

He's taken the bait
of Operation Fortitude.

He orders the transfer of troops
to Norway

and the reinforcement
of the armoured divisions

in the Pas-de-Calais.

At the Berghof, his chalet,
now the hub of power,

Hitler reassures his much-needed

Romanian, Bulgarian
and Slovakian allies.

- Heil Hitler.

NARRATOR: Although he believes
the D-Day landings

will occur in Pas-de-Calais,
he can't be sure.

He has no choice
but to keep fortifying the coasts

of occupied Europe,
from Lapland to the Basque country.

He reinforces the Channel zone,

which greatly benefits French cement
and construction companies.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: In the spring of 1944,

along the length of what is now
known as the Atlantic Wall,

9,000 blockhouses are completed,

representing only half the amount
initially planned.

This is because Hitler prioritises
gigantic submarine shelters

in French ports such as Lorient
and Saint-Nazaire.

He states:

"With walls 15 feet thick
and 600 feet long,

they will be invulnerable
and indestructible."

Hitler's vision of defence
is medieval.

He wants walls.

He says:

"I will go down in history

as the greatest
fortification-builder of all time!"

"I am hellbent on turning
the Atlantic and English coasts...

..into an impregnable fortress."

(newsreel fanfare music)

NARRATOR: German newsreels
go wild to impress the Allies.

(man speaks German on newsreel)

(rousing music on newsreel)

NARRATOR:
Every family has at least one member

dead, wounded, or taken prisoner.

At the National Socialist
People's Relief,

Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels
puts on a show of concern

for the Germans living in ruins.

(tense tone)

NARRATOR: And on the Atlantic Wall,

the Fuhrer appoints
notorious leaders.

At the helm of the Western Front
is Field Marshal von Rundstedt,

one of France's conquerors.

And highly popular
Field Marshal Rommel

is placed at the head
of all coastal defences.

His presence alone reassures
the Reich's film audiences

as he addresses them,

as seen here in Le Touquet
in the spring of 1944.

- (Rommel speaks German)

NARRATOR: "Given our fortification,
the iron morale of our troops...

..and our new weapons,
we can rest easy.

There's no need to worry.
We'll be fine.

If the English try to land here,
they won't come back again."

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Yet Rommel knows
that some sectors

are less well-defended than others.

Many of Rommel's 4,000 weapons
are spoils of war in France in 1940,

including the famous
75-millimetre cannon...

..or railroad artillery.

The calibres are too varied,
and shell stocks are insufficient.

The manpower
was Insufficient as well.

235,000 Wehrmacht soldiers are
spread out along the Atlantic Wall.

Around 30,000 are in Normandy.

And they're not all Germans.

Some units were taken
from Russian prison camps...

..generally sentenced
to starve to death.

The most recently captured prisoners
still fit to fight

are fed, washed,
and given German uniforms.

In Hitler's view, they should
receive a political education,

like all the Reich's soldiers.

The instructors are given a booklet

whose title copies that
of an American film, Why We Fight.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: During their training,

the recruits memorise
the following words...

.."England feels it's her duty
to rule over other peoples.

Americans believe in
the United States' supremacy

over other peoples.

Jews are the world's
main war-makers."

(troops sing)

NARRATOR: For Hitler, this
indoctrination has military value.

Celebrating his rise to power
at a Munich brewery, he says:

"If a man believes his command
is infallible, he dies more easily.

Let's uphold this belief

and ensure that his final fight
is easier for him."

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Hitler wants
the defenders of the Atlantic Wall

to be indoctrinated, trained,
and able to withstand the first hit.

But many of the recruits from
Germany are skinny children...

..who have endured restrictions,
sleep deprivation...

Allied bombings in their towns

and the brutality
of the Nazi education.

Like 18-year-old soldier
Franz Gockel,

lost in his oversized uniform
and helmet.

He stands with his machine gun
on the beach at Colleville-sur-Mer,

where the Americans will soon land.

Gockel writes...

"The beach is well-defended.

At low tide,
a long strip of anti-tank obstacles

stretches across the sand
in front of Coleville.

Death waits on the steel gantries

and tree trunks
with flat mines on top...

..that should tear apart
the ships landing at high tide."

(wave crashes)

NARRATOR: Six million mines,
under the sea, under the sand,

and in the fields above the cliffs.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: But Rommel believes
this is not enough.

He is equally concerned about the
air defence of the Atlantic Wall.

He has plenty of pilots
and outstanding aircraft...

..but his squadrons
are scattered all over France.

Rommel also regrets
that he cannot command the tanks

Hitler has reserved
in the Pas-de-Calais.

Field Marshal von Rundstedt
privately tells Rommel...

.."The Atlantic Wall
is a two-bit bluff."

Rommel agrees. He says:

"This charade is more for the German
public than for the enemy.

Who knows the Atlantic Wall
better than we do?"

One of the Allies'
unwitting sources of information

is General Oshima,

Ambassador of Japan,
Germany's main ally.

Invited to visit the Atlantic Wall
for four days,

..he transmitted a 20-page,
double-encoded report to Tokyo,

which was intercepted and deciphered
by brilliant American academics.

This report gave a detailed
account of the structure

of the fortifications, artillery,
and communications.

Everything was shown
and explained to him in detail.

Throughout the war, Oshima will send
out 1,475 secret dispatches.

General Marshall,
Commander-in-Chief of the US Army,

comments sarcastically...

.."Oshima has been our greatest
informant on Hitler's intentions."

The Wall is closely guarded,

yet the French Resistance networks
find daredevils to approach it...

..like Normandy's cycling champion
Guillaume Mercader.

He has obtained permission from the
Germans to train along the coast.

Every day, he observes the state
of new construction work...

minefield installations,
and ammunition stocks

amongst bourgeois villas and luxury
hotels emptied of their guests.

This takes courage in a country
that generally remains loyal

to its head of state,
Marshal Petain,

who continues to collaborate
with the Germans.

Resistance fighters represent
barely 2% of the population,

but they bring essential information
to the Allies.

They reveal that the Wall
has vulnerabilities.

Passageways for daily exercise...

..for sailing enthusiasts...

for those who are homesick.

The Germans are sick and tired
of staring in vain

at the waves on the horizon.

Some slowly lose
their fighting spirit,

like Helmut Liechtenfelds.

He writes...

.."I'm doing quite well.

Normandy, the name of this part
of France, is a wealthy region.

We eat lots of meat.

We're well-fed."

But the Resistance fighters
are sharpening their knives.

They will show no mercy.

The Maquisards, up to 100,000,

are hiding in the forests
and mountains

of Vercors, Limousin,
Provence and Normandy.

- (men laugh)

NARRATOR: They are learning
how to wage war,

waiting for the insurrection order.

This order will be transmitted
by London's radio station, the BBC,

always jammed by the Germans.

But the jamming doesn't stop people
from listening to General de Gaulle,

the voice of hope.

- (De Gaulle speaks French on radio)

NARRATOR: Or the programme
Les Francais parlent aux Francais,

which broadcasts
curious "personal messages",

coded orders
for the Resistance fighters.

- (man speaks French on radio)

NARRATOR: Messages such as
"Les des sont sur le tapis" -

"The dice are on the carpet" -
which, 48 hours before D-Day,

will trigger the sabotage
of the railroads.

- (man speaks French on radio)

NARRATOR: The order
for cutting telephone lines is,

"Il fait chaud a Suez," -
"It's hot in Suez," repeated twice.

Resistance fighters or not,

the French await
the announcement of D-Day.

It will be broadcast
four days prior,

and will be a verse by Verlaine:

"The long sobs
of violins of autumn".

And on D-Day, by another verse:

"Wound my heart
with a monotonous languor."

The Germans are well aware
of these messages.

Rommel knows that one of them
will announce D-Day.

There's nothing to do but wait.

Rommel tells his officers:

"Everything will be decided
on the beaches

the very first day, like in Dieppe.

We'll have to push them back
immediately.

It will be the longest day."

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Opposite him, Eisenhower.

In the spring of 1944,
he organises a summit meeting

to allocate landing sectors...
and give the beaches code names.

These names are to be chosen
at random and kept secret.

Two American non-commissioned
officers helping with the maps

give the names of their states
and hometowns.

This is how the two westernmost
beaches, assigned to the Americans,

come to be called
"Utah" and "Omaha".

Utah Beach
is at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

Omaha Beach
is at Colleville-sur-Mer.

Montgomery suggests to Churchill
using fish names

for the two British beaches.

Goldfish...and Swordfish.

Churchill remarks that these
fish names aren't appropriate

when so many men
will die in the sea.

So the ending "fish" is removed.

The two English beaches,
Arromanches and Ouistreham,

become respectively
"Gold" and "Sword".

French commandos will land there.

Between the two,
the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer,

intended for the Canadians,

is christened "Juno",
after an officer's wife.

To secure these beaches
and the Allied flanks,

American paratroopers
will jump to the west

and British paratroopers
to the east

on the Orne Canal.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Eisenhower sends
his car for Churchill,

to have him meet the paratroopers.

At the wheel,
is his driver of two years,

26-year-old Kay Summersby.

Eisenhower says:

"When I first saw her,
I thought I was dreaming."

She is a war hero who drove an
ambulance through London in flames.

Over the course of two years,

their relationship has become
more intimate.

- (he laughs)

NARRATOR:
American and British paratroopers

pull off a spectacular rehearsal
for Churchill and Eisenhower.

Churchill expresses his satisfaction
and confidence.

He says to Eisenhower...

.."General, if you could liberate
Paris before winter,

it would be the greatest victory
of modern times."

Eisenhower and Montgomery
finally agree to organise

a large-scale rehearsal
for the Normandy landings.

Exercise Tiger involves
30,000 American and British troops.

On April 22nd, 1944,

they launch an eight-day assault
on two beaches in southern England,

similar to those in Normandy.

(explosions)

NARRATOR: They are about
to experience a nightmare

that will remain a secret
for half a century.

(gunfire)

NARRATOR: Disorganised command...

..artificial fog...

and instructors
firing live ammunition

result in hundreds
of dead and wounded.

But the worst is yet to come.

During the first days
of the exercise,

the radio operators struggle with
their equipment while in action.

(radio signal squeals)

NARRATOR: And when it works,
everyone chatters non-stop.

(radio chatter)

NARRATOR:
On the other side of the Channel,

the Germans detect
unusual radio traffic.

(radio chatter)

NARRATOR: Admiral Doenitz,
the German Navy's cunning commander,

immediately gives
the order to fight.

Nine torpedo boats take off.

Hitler's great battleships have
all been sunk by the Royal Navy.

But these fearsome, fast,
agile and well-armed crafts

are still operational
and ideally suited

to brutal interventions
in the English Channel.

They intercept the landing barges
packed with hundreds of soldiers.

And then, the unthinkable occurs.

(explosions boom and thunder)

NARRATOR:
In addition to the beach casualties,

several hundred men
are drowned and missing.

(explosion booms)

NARRATOR: Among them,
ten officers carrying plans

for the real beaches
of Utah and Omaha.

Eisenhower is furious

and considers aborting
Operation Overlord altogether

if the maps are not found.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: A long, gruesome
fishing expedition is organised.

All ten maps are recovered.

D-Day will take place as planned.

This disaster is
immediately shrouded in secrecy...

until 1984.

British and American troops
are taken to special camps

close to the coast.

They have no contact
with the outside world.

Everyone senses that D-Day is near
and that the countdown has begun.

On May 18th, 1944, Eisenhower
comes to encourage his men,

who are perfecting their training
and receiving new weapons.

One of these is the famous bazooka,
a tubular rocket launcher

that can pierce tank armour
and the cement walls of blockhouses.

(projectile whizzes and thunders)

NARRATOR: But also a much older
piece of equipment,

a tragic souvenir of World War I -
the gas mask.

A test of the mask,
very close to D-Day,

takes place on May 21st, 1944,

as identified by a clapboard.

This test is awkwardly completed
with a gas chamber drill.

This is all it takes
to scare these men,

already nerve-wracked
by the long wait.

(amplified heartbeat racing)

NARRATOR: May 27th.

They try to relax by listening
to Glenn Miller's orchestra

at full blast...

(music blares)

(percussive swing music)

(swing music and cheering)

NARRATOR: ..and jazz music
broadcast by Radio Berlin,

with commentary by an American host
who's gone over to the enemy,

Mildred Gillars.

MILDRED: Hello, darlings,

this is Midge calling
the American Expeditionary Force.

(muffled radio recording continues)

..and willingly sacrifice
a million American boys

on foreign battlefields.
- (muffled recording continues)

NARRATOR: She also says:

"You're waiting for
the starting signal,

imagining you will succeed
in invading our great continent.

You're going to attack
a huge fortress.

You're going to get slaughtered."

May 28th.
The distribution of French money,

an invasion currency
in the same colour as the dollar,

which revolts General de Gaulle,

who is kept away from the D-Day
landings until the last moment.

- (woman sings romantic song)

NARRATOR: May 31st.

The men collect their survival kit,

an indication that
the Landing is imminent.

Three cans of pressed meat,
cheese, vitamin cookies,

sugar, cigarettes,

matches, chewing gum,

a can opener...and a life belt.

(romantic song continues)

NARRATOR: Eisenhower is confident.

His men are pumped up.

Like these boys from a small town
in the South - Bedford, Virginia.

(muffled chatter)

NARRATOR:
Ray writes to his parents...

.."Operation Tiger made us even more
aware of our responsibilities.

We tried to be the best
during training.

It was a matter of pride and honour.

And it worked.

We've been chosen
to be the first to land."

(haunting music)

NARRATOR: There are 34 of them
from the A Company,

116th Regiment,
29th Infantry Division.

They're called the Bedford Boys.

They're waiting for Eisenhower's
orders to take Omaha Beach,

which will soon become known
as Bloody Beach,

but they don't know that yet.

(plane engines drone)

NARRATOR: D-Day is approaching.

Allied bombing intensifies...

(bombs whistle through air)

NARRATOR:
..on German torpedo-boat bases...

the Channel coast, railroads,

locomotives, roads,
bridges and stations.

(explosions thunder)

NARRATOR:
This is the Transportation Plan,

designed to prevent the movement
of German reinforcements

north of the Loire River.

And in the south of France,

the same pounding
prepares for the Provence landings.

Day and night, the British
and Americans spare no city.

(bombs whoosh)

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR:
France's Apocalypse begins...

as does its Liberation.

On June 1st, tens of thousands
of men converge on the boats.

Eisenhower writes:

"The most favourable combination
of moon, tide and sunrise

is June 5th, 6th and 7th.

We will cross the Channel at night

so that darkness will conceal
the importance of our convoys.

Our attacks must take place
at low tide

to destroy beach obstacles
before the sea covers them."

Eisenhower is then struck by fate,
namely rain.

A storm is brewing
on the English Channel.

Eisenhower says:
"If bad weather sets in,

the Nazis won't need anything else
to defend the Normandy coast."

(dramatic music)

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